[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 197 (Tuesday, October 13, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61492-61494]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-25892]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 52-012 and 52-013; NRC-2008-0091]
In the Matter of Nuclear Innovation North America LLC, Combined
Licenses for South Texas Project, Units 3 and 4; Notice of Hearing
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice of hearing.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission)
will convene an evidentiary session to receive testimony and exhibits
in the uncontested portion of this proceeding regarding the application
of Nuclear Innovation North America LLC (NINA) for combined licenses
(COLs) to construct and operate two additional units (Units 3 and 4) at
the South Texas Project (STP) Electric Generating Station site in
Matagorda County near Bay City, Texas. This mandatory hearing will
concern safety and environmental matters relating to the requested
COLs.
DATES: The hearing will be held on November 19, 2015, beginning at 8:30
a.m. Eastern Time. For the schedule for submitting pre-filed documents
and deadlines affecting Interested Government Participants, see Section
VI of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket IDs 52-012 and 52-013 when contacting
the NRC about the availability of information regarding this document.
You may obtain publicly-available information related to this document
using any of the following methods:
NRC's Electronic Hearing Docket: You may obtain publicly
available documents related to this hearing online at http://www.nrc.gov/abaout-nrc/regulatory/adjudicatory.html.
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the
ADAMS Public Documents collection at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and
then select ``Begin Web-based ADAMS Search.'' For problems with ADAMS,
please contact the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at
1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by email to [email protected]. The
ADAMS accession number for each document referenced (if it is available
in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is referenced.
NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Glenn Ellmers, Office of the
Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001, telephone: 301-415-0442; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
[[Page 61493]]
I. Background
The Commission hereby gives notice that, pursuant to section 189a
of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), it will convene
an evidentiary session to receive testimony and exhibits in the
uncontested portion of this proceeding regarding NINA's September 20,
2007, application for COLs under part 52 of title 10 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (10 CFR), to construct and operate two additional
units (Units 3 and 4) at the STP Electric Generating Station site in
Matagorda County near Bay City, Texas (ADAMS Accession No.
ML15120A324). This mandatory hearing will concern safety and
environmental matters relating to the requested COLs, as more fully
described below. Participants in the hearing are not to address any
contested issues in their written filings or oral presentations.
II. Evidentiary Uncontested Hearing
The Commission will conduct this hearing beginning at 8:30 a.m.,
Eastern Time on November 19, 2015, at the Commission's headquarters in
Rockville, Maryland. The hearing on these issues will continue on
subsequent days, if necessary.
III. Presiding Officer
The Commission is the presiding officer for this proceeding.
IV. Matters To Be Considered
The matter at issue in this proceeding is whether the review of the
application by the Commission's staff has been adequate to support the
findings found in 10 CFR 52.97 and 10 CFR 51.107. Those findings that
must be made for each COL are as follows:
Issues Pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as Amended
The Commission will determine whether (1) the applicable standards
and requirements of the Act and the Commission's regulations have been
met; (2) any required notifications to other agencies or bodies have
been duly made; (3) there is reasonable assurance that the facility
will be constructed and will operate in conformity with the license,
the provisions of the Act, and the Commission's regulations; (4) the
applicant is technically and financially qualified to engage in the
activities authorized; and (5) issuance of the license will not be
inimical to the common defense and security or the health and safety of
the public.
Issues Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of
1969, as Amended
The Commission will (1) determine whether the requirements of
sections 102(2)(A), (C), and (E) of NEPA and the applicable regulations
in 10 CFR part 51 have been met; (2) independently consider the final
balance among conflicting factors contained in the record of the
proceeding with a view to determining the appropriate action to be
taken; (3) determine, after weighing the environmental, economic,
technical, and other benefits against environmental and other costs,
and considering reasonable alternatives, whether the combined licenses
should be issued, denied, or appropriately conditioned to protect
environmental values; and (4) determine whether the NEPA review
conducted by the NRC staff has been adequate.
V. Schedule for Submittal of Pre-Filed Documents
No later than October 29, 2015, unless the Commission directs
otherwise, the staff and the applicant shall submit a list of its
anticipated witnesses for the hearing.
No later than October 29, 2015, unless the Commission directs
otherwise, the applicant shall submit its pre-filed written testimony.
The staff previously submitted its testimony on September 30, 2015.
The Commission may issue written questions to the applicant or the
staff before the hearing. If such questions are issued, an order
containing such questions will be issued no later than October 16,
2015. Responses to such questions are due October 29, 2015, unless the
Commission directs otherwise.
VI. Interested Government Participants
No later than October 14, 2015, any interested State, local
government body, or affected, Federally-recognized Indian tribe may
file with the Commission a statement of any issues or questions to
which the State, local government body, or Indian tribe wishes the
Commission to give particular attention as part of the uncontested
hearing process. Such statement may be accompanied by any supporting
documentation that the State, local government body, or Indian tribe
sees fit to provide. Any statements and supporting documentation (if
any) received by the Commission using the agency's E-filing system \1\
by the deadline indicated above will be made part of the record of the
proceeding. The Commission will use such statements and documents as
appropriate to inform its pre-hearing questions to the Staff and
applicant, its inquiries at the oral hearing and its decision following
the hearing. The Commission may also request, prior to November 5,
2015, that one or more particular States, local government bodies, or
Indian tribes send one representative each to the evidentiary hearing
to answer Commission questions and/or make a statement for the purpose
of assisting the Commission's exploration of one or more of the issues
raised by the State, local government body, or Indian tribe in the pre-
hearing filings described above. The decision of whether to request the
presence of a representative of a State, local government body, or
Indian tribe at the evidentiary hearing to make a statement and/or
answer Commission questions is solely at the Commission's discretion.
The Commission's request will specify the issue or issues that the
representative should be prepared to address.
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\1\ The process for accessing and using the agency's E-filing
system is described in the February 20, 2009, notice of hearing that
was issued by the Commission for this proceeding. See South Texas
Project Nuclear Operating Company Application for the South Texas
Project Units 3 and 4; Notice of Order, Hearing, and Opportunity To
Petition for Leave To Intervene 74 FR 7934. Participants who are
unable to use the electronic information exchange (EIE), or who will
have difficulty complying with EIE requirements in the time frame
provided for submission of written statements, may provide their
statements by electronic mail to [email protected].
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States, local governments, or Indian Tribes should be aware that
this evidentiary hearing is separate and distinct from the NRC's
contested hearing process. Issues within the scope of contentions that
have been admitted or contested issues pending before the Atomic Safety
and Licensing Board or the Commission in a contested proceeding for a
COL application are outside the scope of the uncontested proceeding for
that COL application. In addition, although States, local governments,
or Indian tribes participating as described above may take any position
they wish, or no position at all, with respect to issues regarding the
COL application or the NRC staff's associated environmental review that
do fall within the scope of the uncontested proceeding (i.e., issues
that are not within the scope of admitted contentions or pending
contested issues), they should be aware that many of the procedures and
rights applicable to the NRC's contested hearing process due to the
inherently adversarial nature of such proceedings are not available
with respect to this uncontested hearing. Participation in
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the NRC's contested hearing process is governed by 10 CFR 2.309 (for
persons or entities, including States, local governments, or Indian
tribes, seeking to file contentions of their own) and 10 CFR 2.315(c)
(for interested States, local governments, and Indian tribes seeking to
participate with respect to contentions filed by others). Participation
in this uncontested hearing does not affect the right of a State, local
government, or Indian tribe to participate in the separate contested
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hearing process.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 5th day of October 2015.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Annette L. Vietti-Cook,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2015-25892 Filed 10-9-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P